Whatever course is taken,the childe then dies a mortal and spiritual death,only to rise unnaturally afterward.Most of the time,dying is a period of great pain and anguish;the childe suffers spasms and shock as her body sloughs off the mortal coil.
The instant rebirth,by comparison,is perhaps the greatest pleasure a Kindred may ever feel,and is likely the last true extacy the vampire will ever know.As the mystical process transforms the now-dead corps of a childe,it evens out imperfections and often makes the body beautiful,albeit in a surreal manner.Such beauty is frightening to behold,a predatory grace like that of a shark or venemous snake.The childe's senses also hone to an uncanny level,revealing sounds they have never before heard or heeded,tactile stimuli never appreciate with touch,panoplies of color imperceptible to the human eye,and myriad individually distinguishable smells.
The vampire's senses of taste heighten as well,though toward a single,terrible flavor.Only one substance satisfies the vampire:human blood.From the moment they rise,the vampire is a slave to the passion of their Hunger,and every night from their Embrace to eternity they will experience a starvation that can be sated only by preying upon members of their former species.
After the Embrace,the childe is known as a fledgling,under the protection and guidance of their sire until that sire deems them ready to face the night alone.It is the sire's responsibility to educate the childe in the ways of the Kindred,though such education is rarely formal,often spotty,and always tainted by the sire's jeleousies and prejudices.Many sires,desiring conspiritors,sycophants or outright dupes,poison the minds of their childer against their enemies or intentionally leave out important bits of information,the better to rein in the childe later. |
